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Golf: Making the Turn and Chip Shots – UL Golf, Bass Open, Vermilion Links Club and MoreDan McDonald, The Advertiser, Sept. 7, 2016 It’s always good to return to the site of previous success when you’re a collegiate golf team, and that’s the position that UL’s Ragin’ Cajun squad finds itself in this week.
The Cajuns will open their 2016-17 season Monday and Tuesday at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate Tournament hosted by Southern Mississippi at Hattiesburg Country Club, and it’s a place the Cajuns have fared very well – especially now-senior Fernando Cruz Valle.
UL is riding a streak of three straight top-three finishes in the USM tournament, including the team title in 2013 for its first tournament victory in four seasons. The Cajuns were third in 2014 and finished as runner-up last year, both years turning in an eight-under-par 844 score.
Cajun coach Theo Sliman said the Hattiesburg layout is similar to the Oakbourne course that UL often makes use of for practice rounds. Oakbourne, of course, is also the site of the soon-to-be-constructed UL golf facility that will give the program an on-course home for the first time in its history.
“It mimics Oakbourne a little bit,” Sliman said of the 6,902-yard par-71 Hattiesburg course. “It’s pretty familiar to the eye for our guys, and that makes it a great place to open up. It’s a good field, an easy drive and a nice way to introduce some of our new players to college golf.”
One player who won’t need an introduction to the USM event is Cruz Valle, who will be looking for a hot start to his final college campaign. The product of The Woodlands, Texas, finished third last year with a 10-under-par 203 score, was a top-20 finisher as a sophomore in 2014 and tied for fifth individually in his first collegiate tournament in 2013.
That year, Cruz Valle birdied the 18th hole, effectively giving the Cajuns a one-stroke win over Mississippi State for the tournament title at 15-under 837.
Cruz Valle is coming off a summer in which he qualified for the U.S. Amateur, after earning All-Louisiana honors and playing in the Latin American Amateur in January.
“He had a very good summer, especially ending up at the national championship,” Sliman said. “That was a good confidence boost for him, and a realization for him that he is an elite player and deserves to be in that company. He’s had a lot of success opening up in Hattiesburg and we certainly expect him to continue with that.”
The Cajuns could have as many as three other seniors in the qualifying lineup, with returnees Ragnar Gardarsson, Thomas Strandemo and Ryan Desormeaux contending to get into the season-opening lineup. Gardarsson, a native of Gullbringusysla, Iceland, had five rounds in the 60’s last year and was also honored as an All-American Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
“The key for Ragnar, and really for our whole team, is to understand it’s not how good your good scores are, it’s how good your bad scores are,” Sliman said. “We had a lot of rounds last year that could have been much better scoring rounds, and the challenge for us will be to clean up the bad scores to get the most out of our rounds.”
Strandemo redshirted last season, and Lafayette native Desormeaux did not see action in the lineup after transferring from junior college. Sliman is hoping that those two along with sophomores Triston Elston, who had one top-10 finish last year, and Grant Welch will make a greater impact this year.
“We had guys that didn’t get much playing time last year,” he said, “but they’re back and they should be hungry. They’ve got their freshman year or their first year here out of their system, so we’re going to lean on them and hope for them to step up a little bit this fall.”
The Cajun roster also includes three freshmen. Lafayette product Jack Tolson IV, who won a state high school championship during his career at Westminster, joins Aron Juliusson of Gardabaer, Iceland – the ninth Icelandic player to become a part of the Cajudn program – and Skylar Petroski of Orange, Texas, as newcomers.
Sliman expects Tolson and Juliusson to contend immediately for lineup spots … but Juliusson’s debut may not come at the Sam Hall event this week. He’s still awaiting clearance by the NCAA Clearinghouse before he is eligible to participate.
“It’s unfortunate that he probably can’t play in the first event,” Sliman said of Juliusson, “because he’s one that a feel is going to be a big asset to this squad. Aron’s played on a very high level in his junior career.
“Jack has really impressed me these first two weeks of practice. He’s an extremely hard worker and he plays with a lot of heart, which I love to see.”
The Cajun squad started out strong last fall, posting four straight top-five finishes, but struggled through much of the spring season. Sliman is looking for something different this season.
“I like the mix that we have,” he said. “We’ve got some returning experienced players … Fernando and Ragnar give us that. If our other guys can come out and be solid and contribute like I think they can, we have a chance to be a very solid squad.”
Speaking of the Cajuns
The Vermilion Links Club, the recently-organized fund-raising group to support the Ragin’ Cajun golf program, will hold its rescheduled Jimmy “Chicken” Thomas Classic. The inaugural event was originally scheduled for late August but was postponed when the recent flood waters inundated the Oakbourne course.
The two-person scramble will have its same time and scheduled events, and is open to all golfers. The event is a primary fund-raiser for the Links’ upcoming projects, and the Vermilion Links will announce plans for a newly-created membership tier during the tournament.
Activities will begin on Sunday night, Sept. 25, when the club holds a dinner and social at 6:30 p.m. at Oakbourne. All Vermilion Links members and all tournament players are invited for a “meet and greet” with the 2016-17 Cajun squad, and the Cajun players will also be stationed around the Oakbourne course for the next day’s tournament which has an 11 a.m. lunch and a 1 p.m. shotgun start.
The Thomas tournament has a $200 per person or a $400 per two-person team entry fee, and all monies raised go to the Vermilion Links’ efforts to financially assist the UL program. All 50 of the Links’ founding members may play at no charge. Tournament coordinator David Church said that players who had previously entered do not have to enter again, and that other players may enter up until Wednesday, Sept. 21. More information on the event is available from Church at dchurch@dartenergyservices.com.
Bill Bass Open
And in keeping with the Cajun theme, dates and times have been set for the annual Bill Bass Open. UL’s annual Homecoming golf tournament returns to provide local golfers and Ragin’ Cajun fans the opportunity to play golf one day before the annual Homecoming game and help raise funds for the UL golf program at the same time.
The tournament is set for Friday, Nov. 4, one day before the Ragin’ Cajun football team takes on Idaho in the annual Homecoming game, and provides a unique opportunity for local golfers to meet and interact with members of the UL squad.
The four-person scramble event features availabilities for morning and afternoon shotgun starts, with play beginning at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the two waves. Registration begins 90 minutes before each tee time, and lunch will be served after play for the morning wave and before play for the afternoon session.
Snacks and beverages will be available on the course, and there will also be special “Homecoming” holes in play throughout the round.
This year for the first time, RCAF members will get a bonus, with those members paying a $125 entry fee per player. Regular entry fee is $150 per player or $600 per team. Players may make up their own four-person team or may enter as individuals to be paired up on teams, and a team handicap index will be used so that all players have a chance at the Cajun-themed prizes that go to winning squads.
Entry forms will be available soon at local courses and golf outlets as well as several UL locations. Forms will also be mailed out to RCAF members in that group’s September mailing, and forms and information are also available by calling (337) 857-8754. An online form will also be available in the near future at www.ragincajuns.com.
City Championships return
Entries are again being accepted for the City of Lafayette Golf Championships, which was also a victim of the recent flooding in Acadiana. That two-day, 36-hole event was originally scheduled for early August but was postponed due to the weather.
The city’s oldest golf tournament, which has championship flight, men’s, seniors and ladies’ divisions, has been rescheduled for Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 8-9, at Hebert Municipal (Saturday) and The Wetlands (Sunday). Wetlands head professional David Gary said that players who had originally entered the tournament do not have to re-enter, but that any other players are welcome and may register at any of the city’s three municipal courses.
“We contacted everyone that entered that we could reach,” said Wetlands head professional David Gary. “I think the majority will be there in October.”
The tournament is open to all golfers, with no local residence requirements, but players must have an established USGA handicap in order to participate. More information is available at The Wetlands or by calling 291-7151.
USSSA Juniors
The USSSA Junior Golf Tour will hold its next event locally, with the USSSA Carencro Classic set in just over one week on Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 17-18, at The Farm d’Allie in Carencro. The event features boys’ and girls’ play in three age groups, with boys and girls age 12-14 and 15-18 divisions playing 18 holes daily and boys and girls 9-11 playing nine holes per day.
Entry fee is $170 for the two older groups and $100 for the age 9-11 divisions which includes USSSA Junior Golf registration. Deadline to enter is 10 p.m. next Wednesday, Sept. 14, and more information is available from Robert Boudreaux at (337) 278-8431 or at robert.boudreaux@usssa.com.
Hebert extension
Hebert Municipal course manager Wayne Wills announced that because of the weekly event’s popularity, the summer-long Friday afternoon nine-hole scramble tournaments at the course will continue through the end of September instead of their originally-scheduled August conclusion.
The Friday events are open to all golfers regardless of skill level and no advance registration required, and registration is at 5 p.m. each Friday with play beginning immediately after. More information is available at the course or at 291-5542.
Acadiana Pro-Am
The next outing for the Acadiana Pro-Am Tour, sponsored by Community First Bank, is Thursday (tomorrow). The tour’s monthly events are open to all golfers regardless of skill level, and players may make their own foursomes for the Thursday events. More information is available at 364-7611.
Aces
Steve Barnall of Lafayette recorded the first hole-in-one of his golfing career on Saturday, using a pitching wedge and a Titleist ProV1 ball to ace the 112-yard 16th hole at The Wetlands. The 69-year-old Barnau was in a group with Ricky Daigle, Ricky Bellard and Herb Boasso.
Tyler Woodley of Sunset used a pitching wedge and a Titleist ball to hole out on the 125-yard second hole at Hebert Municipal on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Woodley, a 12-handicapper playing for five years, one-hopped his shot into the hole for his first career ace while playing with father C. J. Woodley and Keith Maxson.
(“Making the Turn” appears each Wednesday from February-November in the Daily Advertiser. Clubs, courses and individuals with information about local golf events may email Dan McDonald, editorial director at Golfballs.com, at danmcdonald@cox.net, FAX to (337) 857-8763 or call (337) 857-8754 and leave a message with phone number.)
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